Mike Leigh Says ‘Tender Loving Care’ Will Be His Final Film Due to Illness

Mike Leigh. A directing legend. The number of great films he’s delivered since the ’80s is impressive enough. He’s one of the few directors to have won both the Golden Lion and the Palme d’Or, and his next film, “Tender Loving Care,” will apparently be his last.

Speaking to IndieWire, Leigh revealed that he has myositis—a disease in which the immune system attacks the muscles—and admitted that making another film would be “very difficult” and is “not going to be possible,” given the challenges his illness presents.

When asked if “Tender Loving Care” would indeed be his final film, Leigh said, “Absolutely. I think very likely, yes. I mean, I know the girls don’t like to hear me say that, but I think that is the case.”

I was lucky in making this last film — people were very helpful. You’ll see when I get up that my two friends all helped me to stand up. So I probably can’t do much more. And doing a play is even more physically demanding, strangely enough, than making a film, because on a film you can be moved around.

Now, knowing that this will be his final film, it makes sense that Leigh would want Marion Bailey to play the main character in “Tender Loving Care.” One of his longest-running collaborators, Bailey has appeared in six of his films, and this will be her first lead role. Their creative partnership dates back more than four decades, beginning with the 1981 stage production Goose-Pimples after Bailey was recommended to Leigh.

Leigh is one of the great living filmmakers—Oscar-nominated five times for writing and twice for directing (“Secrets & Lies,” “Vera Drake”)—and, at 83, he seems to have finally hit a wall. He simply can’t do it anymore.

We should never take for granted these legendary filmmakers, still among us and working in the twilight of their careers, who continue to make films. There is a classicism to the way they direct that is sadly becoming extinct in this era. Names like Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, Brian De Palma, Woody Allen, and Steven Spielberg continue to create, and a new film from any of them feels like a gift at this point.

While we’re at it, I’ll list the indisputable Leigh films—the ones I’ve kept thinking about all these years. You have to start with his Palme d’Or-winning “Secrets & Lies” and the indescribable “Naked.” His other career highlights include “Life Is Sweet,” “Another Year,” “Happy-Go-Lucky,” “All or Nothing,” “Topsy-Turvy,” and, more recently, “Hard Truths.”

“Tender Loving Care” is set for release on December 4 from Bleecker Street following its fall festival run at Telluride, TIFF, and NYFF.